Daily Archives: June 26, 2012

I was wondering if your family tree is possibly related to me so I can research my ancestors. My Grandpa was Lloyd Marshal Seymour and he had a daughter Viva Mary Seymour. Unfortunately this is all the information I have besides they lived in Michigan. Are they connected to your family tree?

Strangely enough I had these people in my family tree. Strangely enough I was related to them although quite distantly. That person’s daughter asked me how we were related.

Little Sophie Couture is the one who reunited us and is responsible for all this. She’s a 3rd cousin 4 times removed.

She was 4 weeks-old. This is what is written on the baptisimal act. That would put her birthdate around January 16, 1850 in St-Ignace, Vaudreuil County in Quebec.

Sophie was the daughter of Jean-Baptiste Couture and Sophie Gauthier. Jean-Baptiste Couture became John Seymour when he emigrated to the United States. I don’t have much information on little Sophie Couture. She probably died young like so many children back in the 1800s.

We find Jean-Baptiste Couture in the 1880 U.S. Census. He is living in Michigan with his wife Sophia and his son Adolphes. John Seymour is said to be 66 years old. He would have been 30 when he got married in 1845 with Sophie Gauthier. Sophia is said to be 65. She would have been married when she was 29. That seems to be a little bit odd. Usually people back then would get married around 20 and have children every year or so.

But this same information is found again in the 1894 Michigan Census. John Seymour is listed as being 80 so is Sophia. So we have two sources with the same information.

It’s funny when you start searching for ancestors even if there are not your own.

This why I call it addiction, like this blog about genealogy. Now if we only could find old pictures of this family.

About pictures… We have one of Sophie Couture’s cousin. His name is Joseph Girard (Gerard). He is Sophie Gauthier’s nephew.

Joseph Girard is seen here with his wife Léocadie Neveu and some of his children.

The old man with the beard is Maxime Neveu with his wife Scholastique Lauzon beside him. Joseph Girard is on the far right while Léocadie Neveu is on the far left.

All these people lived in West Bay City, in Bay County, Michigan. The little girl in the middle in the front row is Jenny Girard.